


need your love

by lovelight (Delenaley)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 16:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20138737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delenaley/pseuds/lovelight
Summary: "Stay alive, will you," Yukhei mutters, tightening his arms on Renjun's waist. "I don't think I wanna stay around too long if you're not here with me."





	need your love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hoeunki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoeunki/gifts).

> eye—don't like how this turned out. but i figured that if i dont finish this asap it might end up being abandoned. 
> 
> there's a suspicious lack of zombies for a zombie apocalypse fic. anyway, this is dedicated to the luren president and my xorniest buddy, erika. i love u and i hope u like this.

Humanity as they knew it ended on a Saturday.

This, Renjun knows. Because the school bus that carried them arrived on the camping site the very same day. He also knew that the bus arrived at four o'clock. He had taken a glance just before he and Yukhei took off on the road for good, the gruesome image of their schoolmates—both permanently dead and reanimated—engraved in their memories; it had been midnight.

(He remembers other things as well. Recalls them running away from the reanimated corpse, and the relief he felt when they found a path that lead them out of the woods and into the edge of the island; remembers the way Yukhei had fallen to his knees and clawed at the ground, wailing at the sight of the city across them, fire burning bright while billowing smoke covered the skylines.)

Renjun doesn't know what day it is anymore. He could figure it out if he tried hard enough, but that doesn't matter in this case. With the help of calendars and watches he's encountered along the way—their current safehouse has a grandfather clock—he's counted the dates enough to realize that it's been precisely a hundred and sixteen days, counted it enough to know that today is Yukhei's birthday.

There are many things Renjun has done for Yukhei, and at this point he's realized that there's nothing he wouldn't do for Yukhei. He's too far gone to be afraid of the possibilities that kind of feeling would drag him towards. If three years ago someone told freshman Renjun that he would willingly die to protect Wong Yukhei, younger Renjun would've punched the messenger in the face.

Young Renjun would also punch Present Renjun in the face if he knew that future him would be risking his life to get a stupid birthday gift for Wong Yukhei. Young Renjun doesn't have experience in fighting zombies, though. Meanwhile Present Renjun does, and he's not being overconfident when he says he's good at it.

He manages to escape the horde that surrounded the supermarket just as soon as the skies turned into hues of orange, directly fighting off three corpses through it. He won, of course.

When Renjun reached their current safehouse, it's dark, and Yukhei is already standing in front of their fence in complete gear. He stops in his tracks when he hears Renjun, looking up with wide eyes.

"Renjun, I was about to look for you—"

"I missed you," Renjun says tersely, running to Yukhei's chest and effectively cutting him off.

Yukhei's expression melts into something more similar to how Renjun currently feels—relieved—he moves forward and envelopes Renjun in a bear hug. Renjun nuzzles his face in the crook of Yukhei's neck. The whole world may have gone to shit, but Yukhei will always be Renjun's safe place, his home.

"Junnie, where did you go?" Yukhei asks when they finally break apart, tone softer than before, almost hurtful. Renjun's heart aches. "I saw the note but it's already nightfall and—" Yukhei's voice lowers at his next words, his bottom lip trembling, "—I was afraid something might've happened."

The guilt is unbearable. Renjun realizes now that he should've approached things differently, maybe ask Yukhei to come with and sneak the gift in his bag when Yukhei's not looking. Yukhei must've drove himself crazy with worry, Renjun knows that he too would do the same if their roles were reversed, nevermind the reasoning behind it.

"Xuxi," he calls, reaching up to smooth the crease between Yukhei's brows. Yukhei leans his cheek into Renjun's palm. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Your hand," Yukhei gasps, bringing Renjun's hand down and cradling it in his own palms.

Renjun must've gotten himself hurt during one of the fights, too focused and high on adrenaline to notice that he had been wounded. He stares in disbelief at the dried up blood on the heel of his palm, internally cursing at his own limb for betraying him in a moment like this.

"Let's get you fixed up." Yukhei ushers him through the fence all the way inside the house, stripping Renjun and himself from their gears and putting them aside, Renjun keeps his backpack clutched in his other hand and pretends he didn't catch the questioning look Yukhei threw his way.

Yukhei disappears into the bathroom for a few minutes, then reappears with a small bucket and a towel slung over his shoulder. Renjun's heart swells, he can feel his own expression softening. Renjun doesn't know how, in a world full of uncertainties and unbelievably real monsters, he manages to end up with Yukhei; and most of all for Yukhei to be so unconditionally kind and caring.

Renjun doesn't want to know where he'd be without Yukhei.

Yukhei sits down next to him on the couch and sets the small bucket on top of the coffee table. He continues, pulling out several tubes from the table's drawer. Yukhei looks so concentrated on the task that Renjun couldn't help but smile.

"You've done so much for me," he muses absent-mindedly, only realizing that he spoke at all when Yukhei freezes amidst wetting the cloth.

"You'd be surprised at the things I do for love," Yukhei answers without looking away from the bucket, but even under the dim lighting, Renjun can see the blush rising up his cheeks; a pretty shade of red.

His breath hitches at the implication of Yukhei's words. They've never said it out loud. Renjun can't precisely say what they are, but he's not sure he wants to label it either. They've trusted each other with their lives, saved one another from life or death situations countless times and then some. Despite the push and pull they've had their entire friendship, the one they've always had before the world ended—calling Yukhei his boyfriend felt downright degrading.

Renjun holds back a chuckle. The end of the world, and he's still worried about the most trivial of things. Good fucking God.

Yukhei works over Renjun's wound gently, rubbing his thumb over Renjun's wrist reassuringly whenever he so much as hisses. He applies a generous amount of antibiotic before wrapping a clean bandage on Renjun's hands.

Renjun loves him dearly.

Renjun waits patiently on the couch as he cleans up their table, pouting when Yukhei won't let him help. When Yukhei mumbles something about making dinner, Renjun grabs the sleeve of his sweater and stops him.

"Come here," he says, tugging at Yukhei's sleeve until the boy obeys and drops down next to him. "I've got something for you, but you need to close your eyes first."

Yukhei throws him a confused look.

"Close your eyes," Renjun orders, hand reaching down for the bag he left by his feet.

Yukhei's eyes flutters shut. "Is this why you left earlier?" He asks.

Renjun kept his mouth shut, scooting a little bit backwards. He places the gift in the tiny space between the two of them and grabs one of the unlit based candles on the table, carefully pulling out a lighter from his pocket.

It didn't take long before the candle wick catches fire. Renjun grins.

"Open your eyes," Renjun whispers, shielding the fire with his unbandaged palm. "Happy birthday, my dear."

Yukhei's eyes immediately focuses on the tiny flame dancing in Renjun's hold. They widen when he notices the teddy bear sitting still between them. Yukhei picks it up with the wonder and reverence of a child witnessing snowfall for the first time. When his lips curve into his signature dazzling grin, it makes it all worth it.

"Renjun," Yukhei breathes, lips slightly parted in awe. Renjun doesn't think he'll ever get bored with the way his name rolls of Yukhei's tongue, "don't tell me you look like you went through hell for this? For me?"

Renjun shrugs, as if he didn't dodge a horde of zombies because Yukhei once mentioned that his favorite gift had been when his mother gave him a stuffed bear, one that he kept for many years until it reached an unfortunate, washing machine-related end.

"You'd be surprised at the things I do for love," he admits, echoing Yukhei's words from earlier.

Yukhei is looking at him with so much love and affection that it's overwhelming. Renjun never thought he'd have that kind of love, never thought he would ever see this kind of look directed towards him, feel this kind of love pouring out of someone in waves and willingly drown in it. To love so wholly and be loved as equally deeply in return.

Renjun returns Yukhei's grin with a small smile of his own. "Make a wish, birthday boy."

Yukhei sets the bear down in his lap and cups Renjun's hand in his own, drawing the candle base closer to him and away from Renjun. The fire is gone in one blow, and all that's left is Yukhei blinking up at Renjun through slightly wet eyelashes. He puts aside the candle and gathers Renjun in his lap, the teddy nestled between their bodies.

"Stay alive, will you," Yukhei mutters, tightening his arms on Renjun's waist. "I don't think I wanna stay around too long if you're not here with me."

Renjun's heart echoes with the same sentiment, he circles his arms around Yukhei's shoulders and leans down to kiss the boy's forehead.

"You're all I have left," he admits, no longer able to ignore the hollowness glaring inside his chest, at the spaces that can only be filled by the presence of his parents and the rest of his friends.

Renjun continues, albeit vehemently. "I will never, _ever_ let anything tear us apart."

Somewhere in the room, the grandfather clock chimes. It's been precisely a hundred and seventeen days.

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'ed, we die like men. title taken from 5sos' waste the night.
> 
> hmu on twitter and cc @layverse lets talk abt wong yukhei and sob a bit


End file.
